Washington State offers a range of ciders unlike those in any other part of the world.
We spent the last few days touring the state from glass to glass to find the best ciders this hotbed has to offer: here are the highlights. More

The best dive bars are defined not by what you drink (though it's mostly beer—rarely do the mixed drinks have more than two ingredients), but by environment and patrons. At a great dive bar, the regulars look like they've been on their stools for years. The diviest bars still smell faintly of smoke, even though the smoking ban was put in place most of a decade ago. Most importantly, though, the best dive bars help you forget the stressors of the outside world. More

With the bar perched right on the north shore of Lake Union, bar consultant Maggie Savarino says she and Westward bar manager Lea Fronterhouse tailored the cocktails to be what someone wants to drink while they're on the water. More

On her first try, Percy's & Co. general manager Lauren Thompson described the bar as what would happen if a juice bar and a real bar had a baby. Actually, it is more like what would happen if a Chinese herbalist's shop and a farmers' market had a baby, which was then plopped down to play in a slow Southern bar. More

The oddity of bright, eccentric murals in the middle of a classic, dark space underlines Brian McCracken and Dana Tough's struggle away from bar trends. Nobody else was paying much attention to scotch, they point out. "Smoked meats and malts," the sign proclaims over the door of the Old Sage, sibling to Tavern Law, Spur, and the Coterie Room, succinctly getting to the heart of the mater. More

There are so many outdoor bars with terrible drinks, but in Seattle, you can still find a few secret gardens, squirreled-away patios, and rare spots with sprawling water views that also serve up top-notch beer, wine, and cocktails. Here's our guide to the best places to drink outdoors in the Seattle area. More

As the artistry of cocktails pulls the bar trend in one direction, a new crop of no-frills watering holes in Seattle pushes back. Convenience stores, warehouses, and office parks quietly harbor some of the best places in town to drink beer. If there is good ale flowing through the taps, people will be stoked to sit down and have a pint, even if they're squeezing between racks of potato chips. What these scrappy upstarts lack in food, table service, and ambiance, they make up for by curating the biggest or best tap lists of anyone around. More

Six months ago, Radiator Whiskey's bar manager, Sara Rosales, was hiding her craft-cocktail making tools in a kit under the bar at the Holiday Inn where she worked, awaiting that special customer who would come in and ask her for a real drink. Dan Bugge, veteran restaurateur and owner of Seattle's venerated Matt's in the Market, was that person—and he was on the look out for just the right cocktail aficionado to head up the bar program across the hall at his latest venture, Radiator Whiskey. More

Brunch cocktails walk a fine line, encouraging the drinker to get up and get moving while offering a gentle prod out of sobriety. Coffee makes an excellent vehicle for pepping up a drink, both in its natural form, mixed with Fernet Branca and topped with Angostura cream at Sun Liquor, while other tipples shake the drinker awake with friendly bubbles or bright citrus. Here are 5 Seattle brunch beverages that still haunt our day-drinking dreams. More

West Seattle's bridge-induced isolation has led it to harbor a secret stash of cocktail bars turning out top-notch drinks at astonishingly cheap prices. Here's our guide to where to go and what to drink. More

People always ask how locals make it through the long Seattle winters, when the city's shrouded in dark skies and grey clouds. The answer emits a lovely golden shine, brightening the lives of all who seek it. No, not the sun: it's the bourbon. Here are 5 great bourbon drinks to seek out. More

Ten years ago, 12th Avenue in Seattle was a street, but not a neighborhood, and it certainly wouldn't be described as a cocktail mecca. Today it's a real drinking destination—and it seems inconceivable that a neighborhood so easily annexable by bar-hub Capitol Hill and flanked by Seattle University could ever have lacked for drinking options. Looking for a great drink (or few) in the area? Here's our guide to 5 essential stops on your next cocktail crawl, and what to drink at each bar.More

'Tis the season to be jolly, and nothing gets a group of friends—or awkward officemates—jolly quicker or better than gathering around the punch bowl. We asked three of Seattle's finest drinking establishments to fork over their favorite punch recipes to share with you just in time for winter entertaining. More

Some of Seattle's best bartenders are also some of the city's best drinkers, and when these folks drink, they know where to go for a tipple. We've rounded up a group of people who know their beverages and aren't afraid to spill the beans on where to find the good stuff, whether you're in the mood for a divey bar or a sophisticated spot to sip wine. More

Co-owners Jim Romdall and Clark Niemeyer found a new spot for their trend-setting craft cocktail bar, a year and a half after the previous incarnation had to close due to lease issues. But New Vessel is not the old Vessel. More

Among the many tasks at hand when opening a new bar, Essex owner Brandon Pettit added a rare one: he started right away working on the house-made Fernet-like beverage. Pettit is the chef and owner of famed pizzeria Delancey next door; Essex is the new cocktail bar he recently opened with his wife and business partner, Molly Wizenberg. We took a first look at the cocktails and some of the handcrafted ingredients that will go into them. More

Just two months after the privatization of liquor sales in Washington—meaning you can now buy alcohol in most grocery stores around the city of Seattle—the excitement about well-crafted cocktails and locally-distilled spirits has reached fever pitch. The NW Cocktail and Distillery Festival tapped into that by hosting a two-day festival celebrating producers in the Pacific Northwest and the bartenders who serve their wares. Here were the highlights. More

In 1989, Charles and Rose Ann Finkel took over Liberty Malt Supply Company, founded in 1921, and opened The Pike Place Brewery in the La Salle Hotel under the Pike Place Public Market—a landmark spot in Seattle and one of the longest running continually operated farmers' markets in the US. In 1995 Pike moved to a new location next to the market and changed name to Pike Brewing Company. The current location is a multi-level brewery, pub, restaurant, and beer museum. Check out our snapshots of the brewery behind the scenes. More